NGO Jobs in Kenya - ILRI

Laboratory Manager

Job Description
The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) seeks to recruit a Laboratory Manager/Technical Researcher to oversee processes of the Mazingira Centre laboratory. The laboratory manager will contribute to ongoing projects within the Mazingira Centre with the overall objective of investigating and quantifying the environmental footprint of livestock systems in Africa as well as the identification of promising Climate Smart Agriculture interventions.

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) works to improve food and nutritional security and reduce poverty in developing countries through research for efficient, safe and sustainable use of livestock. It is the only one of 15 CGIAR Research Centres dedicated entirely to animal agriculture research for the developing world. Co-hosted by Kenya and Ethiopia, it has regional or country offices and projects in East, South and Southeast Asia as well as Central, East, Southern and West Africa. www.ilri.org

 Responsibilities

The lab manager, with proven competences in environmental/chemical/biomedical engineering or related discipline, will

·         oversee the management of the laboratory infrastructure, which will include the procurement, servicing and maintenance of a huge variety of state-of-the art analytical instruments such as laser absorption spectroscopes, gas-chromatographs, near-infrared spectrometer (NIRS) and other instrumentation, wet chemistry laboratory instruments used in field and laboratory research at ILRI jointly with a team of research technicians and research associates.

·         Oversee the develop of laboratory protocols for processes and equipment, programming of equipment. Examples are: measuring greenhouse gas fluxes from livestock systems, measurements of water and/or air pollution.

·         Develop and maintain plans, permits, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for environmental and bioscience projects.

·         Keep abreast with new technologies and advise on the suitability, acquisition and implementation of any new procedures or equipment.

·         Manage external requests for sample analysis in terms of planning according to laboratory capacity and generate the necessary invoices.

·         Provide technical support training to scientists and technical staff in the use of instrumentation and will contribute and lead the research and development of new products and procedures.

·         Supervise laboratory technicians to build their technical capacity in order to meet highest analytical standards.

·         Work with other internal units to ensure quality and timely outputs. Provide support to facilities at Kapiti and in Biosciences, in the management of high-precision analytical equipment.

·         Have the freedom to contribute and/or develop own project ideas which related to the overall scope of the Mazingira Centre.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will have:

·         An MSc or higher degree in the field of environment, biomedicine and/or chemistry and/or other relevant technical disciplines

·         Minimum of five years’ work experience in a state-of-the-art environmental or bioscience laboratory working with and maintaining analytical instruments such as laser absorption spectroscopes, gas-chromatographs, and near-infrared spectrometer (NIRS)

·         The ability to independently plan, design and implement experiments both in the laboratory and out in the field.

·         Solid knowledge of international best practice for laboratory procedure and protocols, maintenance of analytical equipment, data management and sample analysis.

·         Experience in micro-meteorological measuring techniques is an asset.

·         Experience with statistical software such as R, Python and/or Matlab and laboratory programs such as Lab view.

·         Proven ability to supervise and train technical officers and provide necessary quality control.

·         Excellent written and spoken English.

·         Experience managing laboratory finances and budgets

·         The ability to effectively communicate in a multicultural context.

·         The ability to collaborate with technicians and scientists from other disciplines (animal nutrition, ecology, sociology, economy etc.) in an interdisciplinary and multicultural team.

Post location: The position will be based in Nairobi, Kenya

Position level: This is an internationally recruited position at job level HG17

Duration: 3 years with the possibility of renewal, contingent upon individual performance and continued funding.

Benefits: ILRI offers a competitive salary and benefits package which includes medical insurance, life insurance and allowances for: education, housing, home leave, and annual holiday entitlement of 30 days + public holidays.

How to Apply

Applications: Applicants should send a cover letter and CV expressing their interest in the position, what they can bring to the role and the names and addresses (including telephone and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience to the Director, People and Organizational Development through our recruitment portal here on or before 25 November, 2019. The position title and reference number: LM/ SLS/ 2019 should be clearly marked on the subject line of the online application.

Research Associate (III)

Job Description

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) seeks to recruit a Research Associate III to perform molecular and immunoassays, such as ELISA, Immunoblots, ELIspot, neutralization assays, FACS analysis, cell sorting, qPCR, conventional PCR, and antibody screening by means of an antibody phage display library.

ILRI works to improve food and nutritional security and reduce poverty in developing countries through research for efficient, safe and sustainable use of livestock. It is the only one of 15 CGIAR research centres dedicated entirely to animal agriculture research for the developing world. Co-hosted by Kenya and Ethiopia, it has regional or country offices and projects in East, South and Southeast Asia as well as Central, East, Southern and West Africa. www.ilri.org

Responsibilities

·         Process samples from livestock animals for antibody or cellular ex vivo analysis

·         Perform immunoassays such as ELISA, avidity assays, immunoblots, neutralization assays, B-cell ELIspot and FACS analysis

·         Perform cell sorting in regular basis and RNA isolation. Perform other molecular biology techniques

·         Independently search literature to improve protocols, and develop own SOPs.

·         Keep the sample and reagents database up to date using excel files and LabCollector.

·         Coordinate with other departments to ensure that laboratories and equipment are in good working order

·         Follow good laboratory practices and assist in laboratory trainings

·         Conduct other research activities as directed by the team

Qualifications

·         A Bachelor’s Degree in Biotechnology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Animal Science or relevant field, a Master’s degree is advantageous

·         At least 3 years lab experience

·         Good theoretical background in immunology and molecular biology

·         Experience and knowledge in immunoassays and FACS analysis.

·         Experience working with LIMS software will be an added advantage

Job Level

This position is at job level HG 12 and open to Kenyan nationals only. ILRI offers a competitive salary and benefits package which includes; pension, medical and other insurances for ILRI’s Nationally Recruited Staff.

How to Apply

 Applicants should send a cover letter and CV explaining their interest in the position, what they can bring to the job and the names and addresses (including telephone and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience to the Director, People and Organizational Development by clicking here  before 8 November 2019. The position title and reference number REF: RA/ AHH /10/2019 should be clearly marked on the subject line of the cover letter.

Digital Ecosystems Manager

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) seeks to recruit a Manager, Digital Ecosystems to develop and implement the institute’s digital ecosystems to support the delivery of ILRI’s research.

ILRI works to improve food and nutritional security and reduce poverty in developing countries through research for efficient, safe and sustainable use of livestock. It is the only one of 15 CGIAR research centres dedicated entirely to animal agriculture research for the developing world. Co-hosted by Kenya and Ethiopia, it has regional or country offices and projects in East, South and Southeast Asia as well as Central, East, Southern and West Africa. www.ilri.org

This position focuses on managing all of ILRI’s web-based systems (both internal and external), providing support to open access and open data initiatives, and strengthening internal collaboration through ILRI’s digital transformation efforts.  The successful candidate will possess the advisory and delivery expertise to oversee ILRIs’ web-ecosystem and to contribute to the digital workplace of the future.

Responsibilities

1. Management and Leadership

·         Develop and guide ILRI’s digital ecosystem by leading Communications and Knowledge Management (CKM) activities related to digital transformation in online media, curation, information & knowledge management and open access to meet the needs of ILRI, encompassing priority setting, planning, team management, reporting and evaluation to meet ILRI’s strategic objectives;

·         Develop and guide CKM activities related to the Digital Workplace.

·         Contribute to the ILRI-wide communications and Knowledge Management (KM) community of practice and leadership group, sharing and communicating work updates and lessons, participate in CKM learning, reviewing and planning activities;

·         Encourage and engage in CKM foresight, experimentation and innovation – new products, services, metrics, projects.

2. Web and Digital Platforms and Tools

·         Lead the development of ILRI’s digital ecosystem, the platform through which we relate, engage and collaborate with colleagues, partners and clients.

·         Develop and guide ILRI’s web and social media presence.

3. Digital transformation and digital workplace

·         Develop and guide ILRI’s digital workplace initiative harnessing digital transformation to enable innovation

·         Develop an enabling online environment to facilitate improved collaboration of research and service teams

4. Information Services and Knowledge Management

·         Search out new innovations in digital communications, knowledge sharing and collaboration

·         Contribute to development of ILRI’s communication and knowledge management strategy and platform

5. Open Access Platforms and Open Data

·         Support development of suitable policies, standards and taxonomies to facilitate access to and re-use of ILRI research products and meet its open access commitments;

·         Support the development of ILRI’s institutional repository (linked to CGSpace);

·         Work closely with other stakeholders/ILRI functions in open access developments.

·         Any other duties as may be assigned.

Qualifications

·         Master’s degree in a relevant subject.

·         At least 10 years’ experience in research or science communication, online collaboration and information/knowledge management, ideally in an international development context

·         Good knowledge and practical experience of different approaches and ways to promote research achievements and results to various audiences including end-users and investors

·         Ability to work with tight deadlines without compromising quality of outputs

·         Be self-motivated, able to work independently in a small team and across different locations

·         Strong record of innovation, creativity and problem solving

·         Excellent interpersonal and team interaction skills and capacities, ideally in multicultural environments

·         High digital literacy: standard office applications, virtual sharing and collaboration platforms, social media and publishing.

Post location: The position will be based in Nairobi, Kenya

Position level: This is an internationally recruited position at job level HG18

Duration: 3 years with the possibility of renewal, contingent upon individual performance and continued funding.

Benefits: ILRI offers a competitive salary and benefits package which includes medical insurance, life insurance and allowances for: education, housing, home leave, and annual holiday entitlement of 30 days + public holidays.

How to Apply

Applications: Applicants should send a cover letter and CV expressing their interest in the position, what they can bring to the role and the names and addresses (including telephone and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience to the Director, People and Organizational Development through our recruitment portal by clicking on the “Apply Now” tab above on or before 3 November 2019. The position title and reference number: MDE/ IP&P/ 2019 should be clearly marked on the subject line of the online application.

We thank all applicants for their interest in working for ILRI. Due to the volume of applications, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

ILRI does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing or training). ILRI also does not concern itself with information on applicants’ bank accounts.

Qualified women applicants are encouraged to apply

To find out more about ILRI visit our website at http://www.ilri.org